This Emotional Video Shows How Much Pressure Moms Feel To Breastfeed

A new baby at home means a lot of things. You want everything to be perfect, you want your sweet little bundle of joy to be healthy and happy, and you want to make sure they have everything they need. It sure is a lot of pressure for one person to take! Add to this the one thing that moms take upon themselves as a duty to themselves and their kids - breastfeeding!

Video credits: YouTube

Whitney Port talks about her struggles with breastfeeding in a emotional, raw, heartbreaking video

Addressing this in her latest episode of her YouTube series “I Love My Baby, But…”, Whitney Port, former reality star of MTV’s The Hills and a new mom, recently spoke honestly about the struggles she faced while she breastfed her two-month-old son.

She begins the episode by talking about how she always intended to breastfeed, but realized only after coming home from the hospital that it’s not as easy as it seems. Because let’s all admit it - first time moms have no clue how to go about breastfeeding.

Whitney says, “After 48 hours of doing it, it just started to get so incredibly painful,” about breastfeeding her son. “And we came home and I just hit a breaking point and said ‘I just can’t do this’ because it feels like someone is, like, slicing my nipples with glass.”

If you’ve had an easier experience while breastfeeding, well, good for you. Unfortunately, a lot of first-time moms face a harrowing experience when they try their hand at breastfeeding. It takes time, bloody and sore and cracked nipples, soft wipes, and major adjustments to get to a point where you’re actually good at it. Some moms even have to face supply issues, or tongue ties and even latch problems. The early days and weeks are painful, emotional, demanding, and exhausting.

Whitney also says in the video that she’s been pumping breast milk and giving it to her son in bottles, but that she doesn’t know how long she wants to keep trying to get him to latch comfortably. “Because of the pain I’ve demonized breastfeeding in my head and the thought of doing it is dreadful.”

The pressure that moms feel to breastfeed -- both due to society and themselves -- is insane! It leaves moms who have a hard time breastfeeding worried that they aren’t doing enough. They’re stressed already that they aren’t doing something that (everyone tells them) should come naturally to them, well. Pile all the societal pressure, anxiety and emotions on top of this, and you’ll find that not even the strongest people are immune to it.

Moms need to be told that it’s completely okay if they aren’t able to/don’t want to breastfeed! If you want to and can, well, then great for you! But even if you can’t, remember that your baby is fed and loved and cared for just the same.

“I’ve heard other people talk about these pressures and I never thought I’d let it get to me,” Whitney says. “Because I think I’m a pretty strong person and I go with my gut. I don’t compare myself with other people and what other people are doing. And now I’m doing exactly that.”

If you’re reading this and going “Yeah, I totally relate to that”, then you’re probably just a normal human being. Motherhood is difficult and makes you vulnerable to things you didn’t think were possible.

As a final message to all those who are going through the same struggles, Whitney says, “I would tell them to not listen to anyone else and do what their heart is telling them to do. And that’s really what I should be doing.”